Sunday afternoons were always special to me as a boy growing up in the late '50s and early '60s. My father was an World War II Army veteran who served in the Pacific, and it was time spent with him and and my uncles watching cowboy and military movies. The Marine Corps movies always stood out because they seemed to encompass all the services. They were stationed on ships, had aircraft and were infantry-oriented. They were also portrayed as high-spirited and mission-oriented, and they took great care of each other. As an adult, I fulfilled that dream with 31 years of active and reserve duty with the Marine Corps. Semper Fidelis.

Joe Vaccaro, Northampton Post 56, Chariton, Va.